It's been less than two months, but from working with a group of Irish students, I've been fully educated in the Irish culture. Staying and working in Ocean City, MD on a J1 Visa for the summer, they've already left an impact on my uncultured, American self.
A few differences between our two cultures:
They call french fries "chips" and chips "crisps." It gets very confusing because we serve both at work.
It's not good. It's not great. It's grand!
The correlation between bacon and sausage and ham and rashers is way too confusing to understand.
Apparently "nable" is a real word. Because "not able" is too long without an abbreviation.
Hardly anyone tips at restaurants in Ireland. It's never included in the bill.
Jumpers are jackets and runners are tennis shoes.
Scotch tape is just a brand name. It's sellotape to them.
When they ask you where the "cling film" is, just pretend they asked you for saran wrap.
After every sentence comes "like." It's confusing like. You think there's more to their sentence, but there really isn't like.
Tayto Park, or Tayto Land, is basically an amusement park named after and based off of potatoes. At first it seems ridiculous, but we have Hershey Park.
Saying, "Oh, that's good craic [pronounced crack]" doesn't have anything to do with drugs. They're just trying to say something is a good time.
Ketchup is like gold.
Everything is "unreal." But it sounds cooler when they say it dramatically with an Irish accent.
Rubbish is trash.
Sometimes "ye" slips out even when they try really hard to say "you."
They don't bike their bikes, they cycle their bikes. (Think about it. That one is more logical on their part.)
Some Americans like to joke that the Irish are all pirates. They're pretty cool, but they are definitely not pirates.
Quesadillas are a mystery.
It rains all the time, and their idea of "hot weather" is 70 degrees. So coming to Maryland for June, July and August isn't too fun at first.
Although the Irish students that I've met and had the pleasure to work with this summer have grown up in a different country, they've adapted to living in America quickly. They've already touched my heart, and now Ireland will be the first place I visit when I travel.
